Tag Archive: Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is one of the biggest names in comedy right now, so it comes as no surprise that she managed to team up with Judd Apatow. Apatow’s been responsible for helping boost the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy today, including Steve Carell and Seth Rogen. Now he’s directing Schumer in Trainwreck and, despite being written by Schumer herself, this still has all the trademarks of a Judd Apatow film. It’s too long and the laughs start to disappear in the film’s second half, but when Schumer writes a joke, it almost always sticks the landing. There are some great character moments here and the relationship between the two leads is incredibly sweet. It’s just a shame that the film’s second half replaces humor with predictable romantic clichés.

Amy (Amy Schumer) is a 30-something New York journalist who currently works for a sleazy men’s magazine. Her father (Colin Quinn) was never able to make his marriage work and he has influenced Amy to abandon a life of monogamy. She sleeps around with as many guys as she can, drinks a lot, smokes pot and is essentially the opposite of her married sister, Kim (Brie Larson). Amy’s latest piece is an interview with Aaron Connors (Bill Hader), a celebrated sports doctor. The two instantly take a liking to each other, which directly goes against Amy’s stance on marriage and long-term relationships. Does she really like this guy enough to change her ways?

Amy’s character is clearly somewhat of a representation of Schumer herself and this gives the more emotional moments in the film a feeling of dramatic sincerity. Admittedly, most of the dramatic moments in the film’s second half are fine, but they just can’t live up to the fun hilarity that the film starts out as. It also doesn’t help that Amy and Aaron’s relationship, while sweet, is on a completely predictable romantic movie trajectory. But while the story is nothing you haven’t seen before, it’s ultimately the performances and the humor that save the film. Schumer’s script is filled with dialogue driven humor and watching these funny conversations play out is a joy to watch. Every member of the cast has at least one standout moment, but it’s ultimately Schumer and Hader that bring the majority of the heart and humor to the proceedings. Both of their characters are funny, but they always feel like genuine people and not over-the-top comedic stereotypes. We’re able to care about their relationship because of this, even when the plot of the film falls into familiar territory. Trainwreck might be nothing more than a typical romantic comedy, but at least it’s a typical romantic comedy done very well.